French transport police to trial being armed with stun guns on trains
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The French police securing an area at the Gare Montparnasse train station during an evacuation in Paris in November 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS – Several hundred officers who police France’s trains and the Paris metro are to be armed with stun guns on an experimental basis in a bid to increase security, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on Feb 19.
Electroshock weapons are designed to temporarily incapacitate suspects with a shock before the police detain them.
But the police’s use of the weapons has been controversial and linked to many deaths, with rights groups claiming that it can be deadly if misused.
Taser, the biggest manufacturer of stun guns, insists its products are safe.
Speaking to broadcaster TF1, Mr Tabarot said use of the electroshock weapon could be an “appropriate” and “proportionate” response to acts of violence on public transport.
He said 10 per cent of railway police, or around 300 to 400 of officers, would be authorised to carry the weapons “in the coming weeks”.
“Our fellow citizens are asking us for security in transport,” Mr Tabarot said, adding that law enforcement officers must “be able to protect themselves and protect passengers”.
“In order to increase control over high‑risk situations, reduce the use of firearms, or limit the risk of bodily harm to third parties and to internal security agents of (France’s national rail operator) SNCF and the Paris public transport authority, the latter may be authorised to carry an electroshock pistol,” says a decree from the ministries of interior and transport published on Feb 19 in the official journal of new legislation.
Authorisation to carry the “non‑lethal” weapon is granted “on an experimental basis” for a period of three years from the date the decree enters into force, the journal entry said.
A source in the Transport Ministry said that “in some countries, the Taser has proven effective”.
In France, the measure will come into effect after the publication of an order specifying the detailed procedures, and after prior training for the officers concerned, the ministry told AFP.
“At the end of the process, an assessment of the system will be carried out,” the ministry added.
SNCF has 3,000 officers in its internal railway police service, while the capital’s metro and bus operator RATP counts about 1,000 security officers.
All are trained officers authorised to carry lethal weapons. AFP
